Crowdfunding To Help Bring Kiwi-Made LGBT Children’s Book To Life

Promised Land, is a new LGBT children’s story book which features two gay lead characters, a young prince and a farm boy who meet by chance in a forest and find love.

Written by Adam Reynolds and Chaz Harris, and illustrated by Christine Luiten, the first edition of Promised Land will be a full colour illustrated storybook aimed at five to ten-year-olds and up.

Reynolds and Harris intend to release Promised Land on the 11 October 2016, coinciding with National Coming Out Day.

A crowdfunding initiativehas since been established for this story of friendship, adventure, responsibility and love to become a reality, with the authors offering copies of the book to entice would-be supporters to help cover the costs of illustration, design, and printing of the first edition.

Adam Reynolds & Chaz Harris

Reynolds who co-authored Promised Land said that he wanted to tell the type of story that he never got to see or read himself growing up.

“We felt a story like this where the sexuality of the characters is not the focus would help contribute to that early acceptance from young people ahead of the time when they may encounter LGBTI classmates or people, later on, their lives,” said Adam Reynolds.

“The book presents a safe environment where a child and their parent(s) can discuss LGBTI people.”

“So much of what we see through the media and our parents when we are children forms our opinions and attitudes towards others and, more importantly, our attitudes towards ourselves,” explained Chaz Harris.

“There are so few stories available for parents to safely and easily discuss with their kids that the world is full of all kinds of relationships and to encourage the acceptance of that.

“I’ve never been that comfortable with being gay, it might even be too late to fix that about myself. However, through a project like this, I can at least try and be part of a solution that might ensure others won’t have to feel the way I have in future.”